Apparatus for cooling oil or other heated liquids



R A. METZ.

APPARATUS FOR COOLING OIL OR OTHER HEATED LIQUIDS.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 19, 1920.

1,393,631. Patented Oct. 11, 1921.

3 SHEETS-SHEET I- R A. METZ.

APPARATUS FOR COOLING OIL OR OTHER HEATED LIQUIDS.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 19. 1920.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2 l 4 w h a I R f A T N l- Y A Q 2 9 M I I; I l III-121.1]: r 1 N H i l *1 Q i l l l 3 SHEETSSHEET 3.

Patented Oct. 11,1921.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. I9, I920.

APPARATUS FOR COOLING OIL OR OTHER HEATED LIQUIDS.

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RALPH A, METZ, OF BATON ROUGE, LOUISIANA.

APPARATUS FOR COOLING: GIL OR OTHER, HEATED LIQUIDS.

others skilled in'the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to improvements in apparatus for cooling oil or other heated liquids, and it is intended especially to provide an arrangement by means of which the highly heated oil coming from the stills of an oil refinery may be quickly and safely cooled; or in which the oil from a burning still may be quickly discharged from the p p still and quickly and safely cooled.

The dangers from fire to both life and property from leaks in stills in an oil refinery are well known, and it is a part of my present invention to lessen this danger as far as practicable.

According to my invention 11 provide an apparatus which is mainly immersed in a reservoir containing water, and in which the oil to be cooled may be supplied either through tubes or coils, and the cooling medium supplied interior of the tanks surrounding the coils, or in which the oil may be supplied to the interior of the tank exterior of the tubes or coils, and the cooling medium supplied to the interior of the tubes or coils.

lln the normal process of cooling, it will be preferable to conduct the oil to be cooled through the tubes, while when emergency exists, or very rapid action is required, it would be preferable to conduct oil in large volume to the space in the tank surrounding the tubes, thus carrying it away quickly from the still and supplying the cooling medium through the coils as well as to the exterior of the tank, as will be hereinafter more fully described.

My invention will be more fully understood after reference to the accompanying drawings, in which like parts are indicated by similar reference symbols throughout the several views, and in which a single unit of the system is shown, it being understood that there may be a number of units similar to that hereinafter described.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Oct. 11, 1921.,

Application filed February 19, 1920. Serial No. 359,953.,

Figure l is a plan view of one-of the units, parts being broken away.

Fig. 2 shows a vertical section along the line 2-2 of Fig. 1, and looking in the direction of the arrows.

Fig. 3 shows a transverse vertical section along the line 3-3 of Fig. l, and looking in the direction of the arrows; and i Fig. 4 is a detail showing on a larger scale the end connections of the circulatmg tubes, parts being broken away.

A represents a reservoir having its walls preferably made of reinforced concrete, which is preferably embedded in the ground as indicated at B. When the apparatus is in use this reservoir ispreferably filled with cooling water through the pipe C controlled by the valve 0, and the height of the water in the Dreservoir is controlled by the overflow It will be desirable to drain the reservoir, as, 'for instance, in cleaning out the same, or repairing the apparatus contained therein, and for this reason I provide a drain pi e E controlled by the foot valve f and the valve stem F and handle Suitable means for supplying water to t e reservoir are, of course, provided, such, for instance as either a pump, a ram, or gravity flow, and suitable means also should be provided for carr ing oil the water from the drain pipe E. l ounted in the reservoir are one or more cooling tanks H, which rest upon suitable lati'orms, such, for instance, as the heavy l-beams G and G, which are shown as superposed and crossing each other, So that free access may be had to the bottom of the tank as desired.

The top of the tank is provided witha manhole and cover I through which access may be had to the interior of the tank, andthe bottom of the tank is also provided with a manhole and cover I", the manhole constituting also a catch basin l for removing the residue from the bottom of the tank, as will be hereinafter described.

The bottom of the tank is preferably sloped very slightly, as at k", to direct the flow of any liquid therein to the catch basin 1".

The side walls and top of the tank H may be reinforced in any convenient way, as'by means of stra s, preferably in the form of I-beams H". he heads it of the tank are re inforced by the circulating tubes or coils K,

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whose ends are rolled or flared over, as shown at k in Fig. 4:. These ends open into the nip ples M which are screwed into the boiler makers flanges L riveted to the plates h, and the other ends of these nipples are screwed into the flanged collar m secured to the flange n of the T N. This T is provided with a flange n which is connected to the flange 0 of the nipple 0 connecting the T N to the corresponding T N of the adjacent tube, thus connecting one tube to the other and forming a circulating return.

The Ts are preferably providedwith screw plugs N in line with the axis of the tube, so that the tubes may be readily rolled or-removed, or repaired, it desired. T have shown the T N provided with a supplemental flange W, with bolt holes a should it be-pre'ferred to use an ordinary disk shaped cap, or blank cap and gasket, instead of the plug N".

'By the herein described arrangement of tube connection, standard material may be used and it is not necessary to have parts especially made for use in any particular ap paratus.

In place of the construction shown in Fig.

4: other forms of return connections may be p used, such, for instance, as the well known short Ls, or long sweep US, which are well known in the pipe fitters art and will not be further described herein.

description we will assume first that the oil' is to be supplied to the interior of the tubes, and the cooling medium to the exterior of the tubes in the tank. In such ,case the oil is conveyed from the still or other receptacle containing the heated oil either by gravity, or by pressure, in any convenient way, not shown. This oil enters through the pipe P past the controlling valve p, and enters the series of tubes through the pipe l After passing through the series of tubes or coils in the tank, this oil escapes through the pipe Q and is carried off by the pipe Q controlled by the valve g. A suction pump, not shown, should preferably be applied to the pipe Q to accelerate the how of the cooled oil.

I have shown a duplication of the circulation means for the oil just referred to, and

' divide the tank intotwo sections whereby the valve w. The water may be carried into the system either by gravity, or pumping, or otherwise, and it may be discharged into a sewer, or used for other purposes, as may be desired.

Thus ll'have described the flow of oil, or other liquids, through the tubes, and .of the cooling medium exterior to the tubes.

lln order to reverse this operation, and carry the oil or other liquid to be cooled exterior to the tubes, and the cooling medium through the tubes, I provide the arrangement that will now be described.

Oil will be carried into the system through the pipe V, controlled by the valve 1), and enters-the tank through the pipe V, which may be provided with a supplemental valve 'v as a further block to the how of liquid therethrou h.

After the oil has been cooled in the tank,

it is carried ofl through pipes T and T (see Fig. 3) and past the valve t into the ipe T. For this purpose the oil may be forced or sucked out, as may be preferred, and suitable pumping means are provided for that purpose.

- When the oil flows in the path just indicated, the water enters through the pipes R, past the valves '7' into the pipes Q, and, flowing through the tubes or coils, it escapes through the pipes l" and S, the latter controlled by the valves 8, and this water maybe carried 05 to a sewer, or used for any purpose desired.

In order to completely emptythe tank of oil when desired, I provide an emergency suction arrangement comprising the pipe Y which projects down into the catch basin 1", see Fig. 3, which pipe is controlled by the valve y which is connected to the branch 02 of the pipe X opening into the pipe T, controlled by closing off the connection with the pipe T thereby blocking the suction on said pipe, or suction may be turned on to the pipe Y, and the residue from the bottom of the tank may be emptied out.

In order to relieve the pressure on the top of the tank when the liquid is forced in, T provide a pressure relief pipe X, controlled by the valve :B, which is connected by the pipe X to the pipe T, and a suita le pressure gage m" or safety valve, or both, may be provided, if desired, to indicate the pressure or to relieve the same automatically. Such devices are well known in the art and will not be further described herein.

In order to supply steam to the tank when required, I provide a steam main Z, controlled by the valves 2, z and 2 and the condensed water in this steam main may be blown off by the short nipple 2, having the usual cap such as is found in use with steam heating coils. The steam is conveyed into the interior of the tank H by means of the pipe Z. y

In order to relieve the steam pressure in the tank this may be accomplished either by the pipe X and its connections, or if it is desired to close the pipe X a similar result may be accom lished by having the blow-oft attachment 0 to the pipe V, which blow-off attachment is closed by the valve 4)".

It is desirable to admit steam into the tank before admitting the hot liquids thereto, to prevent flashes, and it is also generally desirable to supply steam to the interior of the tank so as to facilitate the cleansing of the same and drive off the gases contained therein.

In the operation of the device for emergency work, it is preferable to admit the oil or liquid to be cooled through the pipe V into the interior of the tank outside of the coils, and to convey the coolin medium into the interior of the coils, whi e for ordinary usage it is preferable to carry the oil or other liquid to be cooled through the tubes or coils and to convey the cooling medium through the main body of the tank exterior to the tubes or coils; the path of the liquids in each case being as hereinbefore described. v

It will be obvious that various modifications might be made in the herein described apparatus, and in the construction, combination and arrangement of parts which could be used without departing from the spirit of my invention, and I do not mean to limit the invention to such details except as particularly pointed out in the claims.

Having thus described my invention what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is: I

1. Apparatus for cooling oil or other hot liquid, comprising a-reservoir, means for delivering water to said reservoir and for conveying it away therefrom 'when it reaches a predetermined level in sald reservoir, with.

means for draining said reservoir when desired, a closed cooling tank mounted in said reservoir: and normally submerged in the water contained therein, the said tank being provided with separate passages for the flow of the hot oil and the cooling water, with means for delivering the hot oil to one set of such passages, and the cooling water to the other set, substantially as described.

2. Apparatus for cooling oil or other hot liquid, comprising a reservoir, means for de livering water to said reservoir and for conveying it away therefrom when it reaches a predetermined level in said reservoir, with means for draining said reservoir when desired, a closed cooling tank mounted in said provided with separate passages for the flow of the hot oil and the cooling water, with means for delivering the hot oil to one set of such passages, and the cooling water to the other set, and means for transposing the flow of oil and water, respectively, from one series of passages to the other, substantially as described.

3. Apparatus for cooling oil or other hot liquid, comprising a reservoir, means for delivering water to said reservoir and for conveying it away therefrom when it reaches a predetermined level in said reservoir, with means for draining said reservoir when desired, a .closed cooling tank mounted in said reservoir and normally submerged in the water contained therein, the said tank being provided with a series of tubes connected together in series, and connections thereto for supplying either hot oil or cooling water, as may be desired, to said tubes, with means for delivering conversely either cooling water or hot oil, as may be desired, through the space in said tank surrounding said tubes, substantially as described.

4. Apparatus for cooling oil or other hot liquid, comprising a reservoir, means for de livering water to said reservoir and for conveying it away therefrom when it reaches a predetermined level in said reservoir, with means for draining said reservoir when dewater or hot oil, as may be desired, through the space in said tank surrounding said tubes, and means for supplying steam to the interior of said tank, substantially as described. A

5. Apparatus for cooling oil or other hot liquid, comprisinga closed cooling tank provided with separate passages for the flow of the hot oil and the cooling water, with means for delivering the hot oil to one set (if such passages, and the cooling water to the other set, and means for transposmg the flow of oil and water, respectively, from one series of passages to the other, substantially as described.

6. Apparatus for cooling oil or other hot liquid, comprising a closed cooling tank provided with separate passages for'the fiow of the hot oil and the cooling water, with means for delivering the hot oil to one set of such passages, and the cooling water to the other set, means for supplying steam to the interior of said tank, and means for transposing the flow of oil and Water, respectively, from one series of passages to the other, substantially as described.

'1. Apparatus for cooling oil or other hot liquid, comprising a closed cooling tank providedwith a series of tubes connected together in Series, and connections thereto for supplying either hot oil or cooling Water, as may be desired, to said tubes, with means for delivering conversely either cooling water or hot oil, as may be desired, to the space in said tank surrounding said tubes, substantially as described.

8. In apparatus for cooling oil or other hot liquid, the combination with a tank having a plurality of tubes having their opposite ends secured in the opposite heads of said tank, a double T connection and nipples connecting said tubes in series, screw plugs screwed into said Ts in line with the axes of said tubes, means for supplying liquid to one end of said series of tubes, and for vcarrying oi? the liquid from the other end of said series of-tubes, and means for delivering liquid to said tank to the spaces surrounding said tubes, substantially as described.

' RALPH A. METZ. 

